Selectmen narrowly met a Nov. 6 deadline to apply for a grant studying the cost of expanding sewer service to Aucoot Cove residents.

The application for the New England Program Water Quality Management grant was originally put before Special Town Meeting voters last month. In order to obtain the $200,000 grant, $50,000 would be the town’s required contribution.

Voters balked at spending the funds and denied the motion.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson said the Selectmen moved forward with the grant application after learning that the town could contribute $50,000 worth of “in-kind” services, not cash.

“That would include any engineering work from the town’s firm as well as staff hours from the Buzzards Bay Coalition used to prepare the application,” Dawson said.

By expanding sewer service to Aucoot Cove residents, Dawson said there’s a possibility of reducing nitrogen discharge into the environment.

Without the study, that’s impossible to know, he said.

More importantly, Dawson said by being proactive the town is demonstrating a good faith effort to the Environmental Protection Agency, which is considering the terms of the town’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit.

The permit dictates how the wastewater treatment plant operates. As drafted, the permit would require upgrades worth millions of dollars.

Dawson said Selectmen hope some of the permit conditions will be changed to allow for less costly upgrades.

Studying alternatives such as the sewer expansion is one way of doing that, Dawson said. Last week, he met with EPA officials to discuss the draft permit.

“They seemed aware of our plight and that we’re trying to do the right thing,” he said.